US starts Syria withdrawal, says coalition

In this Wednesday, April 4, 2018 file photo, a U.S. soldier, left, sits on an armored vehicle behind a sand barrier at a newly installed position near the front line between the U.S-backed Syrian Manbij Military Council and the Turkish-backed fighters, in Manbij, north Syria.
Image Credit: AP

Beirut: The US-led coalition against Daesh has begun the process of withdrawing from Syria, a spokesman said on Friday, indicating the start of a US pullout that has been clouded by mixed messages from Washington.

President Donald Trump announcement last month that he had decided to withdraw 2,000 US troops stunned allies that have joined Washington in the battle against Daesh in Syria.

Top US officials were shocked too, among them Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who quit in protest.

The coalition “has begun the process of our deliberate withdrawal from Syria. Out of concern for operational security, we will not discuss specific timelines, locations or troop movements,” Colonel Sean Ryan said.

They have said that the pullout will be done in a slower way ... in all likelihood because of the various pressure that it might have had including from France. President Macron spoke to him [Trump] several times and it seems that there has been a change that I think is positive.

- Jean-Yves Le Drian, French Foreign Minister

Russia, which has deployed forces into Syria in support of the Damascus government, said on Friday it had the impression that the United States wanted to stay despite the announced withdrawal of US troops, RIA news agency reported.

The decision has injected new uncertainties into the eight-year long Syrian war and a flurry of contacts over how a resulting security vacuum will be filled across a swathe of northern and eastern Syria where the US forces are stationed.

On the one hand, Turkey aims to pursue a campaign against Kurdish forces that have partnered with the United States, and on the other the Russia- and Iran-backed Syrian government sees the chance to recover a huge chunk of territory.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton suggested on Tuesday that protecting Washington’s Kurdish allies would be a pre-condition of the US withdrawal.

That drew a rebuke from Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan who called his comments “a serious mistake”.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has been touring the Middle East this week to reassure allies of Washington’s commitment to regional security, said on Thursday the withdrawal would not be scuppered despite the Turkish threats.

The Kurdish groups that control the north have turned to Moscow and Damascus in the hope of striking a political deal that will stave off Turkey and shield their autonomy in the north.

Turkey views the US-backed YPG Syrian Kurdish militia as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a 34-year insurgency in Turkey for Kurdish political and cultural rights, mostly in southeastern areas near Syria.

A top Kurdish politician told Reuters last week the Kurds had presented Moscow with a road-map for a deal with Damascus.

Syria’s deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday he was optimistic about renewed dialogue with the Kurds.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian of France, which is part of the US-led coalition, welcomed what he believed was a slower withdrawal by the US after pressure from its allies.

“They have said that the pullout will be done in a slower way ... in all likelihood because of the various pressure that it might have had including from France. President Macron spoke to him (Trump) several times and it seems that there has been a change that I think is positive,” he said in a television interview on Thursday.

In a rare acknowledgment that French troops were also in Syria, he said they would leave when there is a political solution in the country.

“Obviously when there is a political solution, we will withdraw,” he said without elaborating.

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